It’s been another whirlwind week in a series of whirlwind weeks for 5000 Poppies.

Following hot on the heels of our magnificent installation at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, this week we have unveiled our next in a series of tribute installations for Remembrance Day 2018 at Australian Parliament House in Canberra.

A spectacular display of some 30,000 poppies in a series of 48 large panels adorns the wall above the marble entrance hall. It is a combination of knit and crochet poppy panels and felt, fabric and paper poppy panels alternating for the 60m or so length of the wall. A brilliant effort, beautifully executed by the team at PHQ, using your gorgeous, heartfelt handcrafted poppies.

The majority of the poppies in this piece are taken from the overrun of poppies we received for our AWM tribute (there were many) and others that have been collected over time. Again, we have tried to incorporate a wide cross section of poppies to ensure that as many makers as possible are represented in this installation. A labour of love by many.

This tribute complements our beautiful AWM installation, and, politics aside, it serves to remind our present day Politicians of how decisions made in the halls of Parliament some 100 years ago … deeply impacted our young nation … as Dr Brendan Nelson reminded us in his address to the National Press Club in September this year.

So, while while I am still marvelling at the sheer *scale, beauty and sadness of our incredibly evocative tribute of 62,000 individually handcrafted stemmed poppies … each representing an Australian life lost in WWI … we still have work to do.

I should also mention that the AWM will have bunches of our beautiful 5000 Poppies Poppies available for purchase after the 12 November. You can go online to Poppy pre-order AWM They will be a little faded from their time basking in the sun (some more faded that others after their time in the sun in the U.K. and France, but that just adds to the history. Proceeds from the sale will go to Legacy Australia.

The third in the series at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne will be unveiled on 4 November and will feature The Ode from Laurence Binyon’s For the Fallen … one of the most stunning pieces of poetry I have ever heard and one that reduces me to tears, no matter how often I hear it. It brings to mind those men and women who have lost “mates” in service (my father included) and the enduring legacy they are left with. Lest We Forget.

And the final two pieces will be installed in Canberra from 6-8 November. I will share more of these tributes once they are in situ.

And of course, for our Victorian family … the RSL has our beautiful handcrafted Poppy Pins available now among the myriad of choices for this year’s Poppy Appeal. Made with love. Keep your eye out for them. We would love to see them everywhere come November 11. Funds raised go towards RSL Veterans Programs.

*My apologies to the photographer for no credit on the AWM shot … but I have no idea where the image originated.